van der Waals metamaterials

TL;DR

This paper introduces van der Waals metamaterials as a rapid prototyping platform to emulate layered 2D materials and explore their electronic and acoustic properties, enabling new device designs and insights.

Contribution

It presents a novel approach to simulate van der Waals heterostructures using layered metamaterials that control ultrasound flow, extending beyond traditional material limitations.

Findings

Constructed analogues of bilayer and trilayer graphene configurations.

Achieved coupling regimes surpassing those of natural graphene.

Enabled transfer of electronic behaviors to acoustic systems.

Abstract

The van der Waals heterostructures are a fertile frontier for discovering emergent phenomena in condensed matter systems. They are constructed by stacking elements of a large library of two-dimensional materials, which couple together through van der Waals interactions. However, the number of possible combinations within this library is staggering, and fully exploring their potential is a daunting task. Here we introduce van der Waals metamaterials to rapidly prototype and screen their quantum counterparts. These layered metamaterials are designed to reshape the flow of ultrasound to mimic electron motion. In particular, we show how to construct analogues of all stacking configurations of bilayer and trilayer graphene through the use of interlayer membranes that emulate van der Waals interactions. By changing the membrane's density and thickness, we reach coupling regimes far beyond that of conventional graphene. We anticipate that van der Waals metamaterials will explore, extend, and inform future electronic devices. Equally, they allow the transfer of useful electronic behavior to acoustic systems, such as flat bands in magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene, which may aid the development of super-resolution ultrasound imagers.